Instead of a “name and shame” campaign, President Duterte prefers to take legal action against celebrities allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade.
File cases against them
The President said he would rather not shame celebrities as they are not seeking public office and would rather file cases against them if the evidence is sufficient.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) earlier announced that 31 television and movie personalities are on its drug watch list.
“These names of celebrities that you want released … You know, what would be the purpose? They are not people seeking public office, so there’s really no need,” he said.
The President added: “We will just file [cases] if the evidence gathered is sufficient. But I will not unnecessarily put these celebrities to shame. They are civilians.”
The PDEA said it was still validating the alleged links of the celebrities to the narcotics trade.
Narcopoliticians
The celebrity watch list was floated weeks after the President read the names of 46 politicians whom he accused of involvement in illegal drugs.
Following the publication of the list of narcopoliticians, administrative cases were filed against the officials in the Office of the Ombudsman.
On Saturday night, the President said the public had the right to know if the politicians seeking elective office would end up to be a liability or an asset to the government.
“You run the risk always, because you are aspiring a public office and everybody should know whether you are a liability to the government or an asset. That’s my purpose,” he said.